Iowa high school football rankings: Cedar Rapids Kennedy earns a No. 1 share in Class 5A

Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s opportunistic defense collected seven takeaways in a surprisingly lopsided win over Cedar Falls on Friday.

Here’s another takeaway, three days later: The Cougars are co-owners of a No. 1 ranking.

Kennedy and Southeast Polk share top billing in The Gazette’s Class 5A list, released Monday. The Cougars (6-0) and the Rams (5-1) split the six first-place votes down the middle, and both earned 53 poll points in a snug top five in which West Des Moines Valley is third and Ankeny and Iowa City High are tied for fourth.

The door opened for a new No. 1 after Ankeny was edged by Valley, 38-35. In the meantime, Kennedy was feasting on Cedar Falls turnovers in a 42-14 triumph and Southeast Polk downed Linn-Mar, 38-15. The Rams outscored the Lions 24-0 in the second half.

Kennedy quarterback Carson Blietz passed for four touchdowns and ran for another.

The leaders in the other six classes remained the same — North Scott in 4A, Harlan in 3A, Southeast Valley in 2A, Van Meter in 1A, West Hancock in Class A and Anita CAM in 8-Player.

North Scott’s cushion grew in 4A after former No. 2 Indianola was defeated by Norwalk. Cedar Rapids Xavier climbs into the No. 2 slot and is followed by Bondurant-Farrar, Lewis Central and Norwalk.

Harlan and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley have been 1-2 all season in 3A. West Delaware, Solon and Humboldt complete the top five.

The lone unbeaten in 2A, Southeast Valley has a wide lead at the top of that class. West Marshall is second, then it’s Ida Grove OABCIG, Waukon and Estherville ELC.

Van Meter has been as dominant as anybody in any class, outscoring its six opponents by a margin of 293-13, including 203-0 in district play. Underwood is No. 2 behind Van Meter on all six ballots, with Iowa City Regina, Dike-New Hartford and Sigourney-Keota next in line.

West Hancock received five first-place votes and holds a 59-53 advantage in poll points on No. 2 Grundy Center in Class A. Woodbury Central is third, followed by Lisbon and Logan-Magnolia.

Season-long No. 1 CAM continues to lead the 8-Player pack, earning four first-place votes. Montezuma is second, heading into Friday’s battle of unbeatens at Baxter, then it’s Remsen St. Mary’s, Easton Valley and Audubon.

The Gazette’s Iowa high school football poll

CLASS 5A W-L Pts Pvs

T-1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (3) 6-0 53 2

T-1. Southeast Polk (3) 5-1 53 2

3. West Des Moines Valley 5-1 49 4

T-4. Ankeny 4-2 40 1

T-4. Iowa City High 6-0 40 5

6. Urbandale 5-1 32 6

7. Cedar Rapids Prairie 5-1 24 8

8. West Des Moines Dowling 3-3 13 —

9. Linn-Mar 5-1 10 9

10. Cedar Falls 4-2 8 7

Dropped out: Ankeny Centennial (10).

Others receiving votes: Pleasant Valley 3, Waukee Northwest 3, Dubuque Senior 2.

CLASS 4A W-L Pts Pvs

1. North Scott (6) 6-0 60 1

2. Cedar Rapids Xavier 5-1 49 3

3. Bondurant-Farrar 6-0 47 3

4. Lewis Central 4-2 37 5

5. Norwalk 5-1 34 8

6. Waverly-Shell Rock 5-1 28 6

7. Winterset 5-1 27 6

8. Indianola 5-1 26 2

9. Spencer 5-1 11 10

10. Clear Creek Amana 5-1 6 9

Others receiving votes: Fort Madison 4, Decorah 1.

CLASS 3A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Harlan (6) 6-0 60 1

2. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 6-0 53 2

3. West Delaware 5-1 42 4

4. Solon 6-0 41 4

5. Humboldt 6-0 40 3

6. Independence 6-0 33 6

7. Nevada 6-0 24 7

8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 5-1 19 8

9. Davenport Assumption 4-2 7 9

10. Adel ADM 5-1 5 9

Dropped out: Creston (9).

Others receiving votes: Algona 4, Benton Community 2.

CLASS 2A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Southeast Valley (5) 6-0 59 1

2. West Marshall (1) 5-1 48 2

3. Ida Grove OABCIG 5-1 47 3

4. Waukon 5-1 41 4

5. Estherville ELC 4-2 34 6

T-6. Greene County 5-1 27 8

T-6. West Lyon 4-2 27 7

8. Spirit Lake 4-2 21 5

9. Central Lyon-GLR 3-3 18 9

T-10. North Fayette Valley 5-1 3 —

T-10. Williamsburg 3-3 3 —

Dropped out: Unity Christian (10).

Others receiving votes: Pocahontas Area 2.

CLASS 1A W-L Pts Pvs

1. Van Meter (6) 6-0 60 1

2. Underwood 6-0 54 2

3. Iowa City Regina 6-0 43 3

4. Dike-New Hartford 6-0 38 4

5. Sigourney-Keota 6-0 37 5

T-6. Dyersville Beckman 6-0 26 6

T-6. West Sioux 5-1 26 6

8. Guthrie Center ACGC 6-0 21 8

9. Pella Christian 5-1 10 10

10. Denver 6-0 9 —

Dropped out: Waterloo Columbus (9).

Others receiving votes: West Branch 3, Waterloo Columbus 2, South Central Calhoun 1.

CLASS A W-L Pts Pvs

1. West Hancock (5) 6-0 59 1

2. Grundy Center (1) 5-1 53 2

3. Woodbury Central 6-0 46 3

4. Lisbon 5-1 37 4

5. Logan-Magnolia 5-1 35 4

6. North Linn 6-0 33 6

7. North Tama 6-0 25 7

8. North Butler 6-0 20 9

T-9. Belle Plaine 5-1 4 —

T-9. Hartley HMS 4-2 4 8

T-9. Southwest Valley 5-1 4 —

Dropped out: Earlham (10).

Others receiving votes: Oakland Riverside 3, South O’Brien 3, East Buchanan 2, Mason City Newman 2.

8-PLAYER W-L Pts Pvs

1. Anita CAM (4) 6-0 58 1

2. Montezuma (1) 7-0 51 2

3. Remsen St. Mary’s 6-0 46 3

4. Easton Valley (1) 6-0 43 4

5. Audubon 5-1 38 5

6. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 6-0 26 7

7. Turkey Valley 6-0 23 8

8. WACO 7-0 18 10

9. Lenox 6-0 17 9

10. Lansing Kee 6-0 7 —

Dropped out: Newell-Fonda (6).

Others receiving votes: Baxter 2, Janesville 1.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com